U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Hassoun's trial began on Monday after he was charged with desertion for leaving his post in Iraq back in 2004. His trial has extended for nearly a decade as Hassoun traveled to Lebanon to allegedly avoid a trial.

On Monday, a military court began the trial against Lebanese-born Cpl. Hassoun who disappeared from his post in Iraq and then later reappeared in Lebanon, claiming he had been kidnapped by extremists, according to Reuters.

The 35-year-old Marine, a naturalized citizen, is being tried at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and has been charged with desertion, destruction of government property and larceny. The trial will last around two weeks and, if found guilty, Cpl. Hassoun could face up to 29 years in prison.

The ordeal began in June of 2004 when Cpl. Hassoun allegedly deserted his post in Fallujah, according to the Washington Post. Nineteen days later, he reappeared at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, claiming extremists had kidnapped him. A video and images appeared online on extremist sites depicting Cpl. Hassoun blindfolded and with a sword at his neck, but following his release the military became skeptical.

However, after being charged with desertion, Cpl. Hassoun disappeared again in January of 2005, reported the BBC.

Cpl. Hassoun finally returned to the U.S. in the summer of 2014, almost a decade after disappearing, according to Reuters. Following an authorized visit to his family in Utah, Cpl. Hassoun fled through Canada back to Lebanon.

"The Naval Criminal Investigative Service worked with Cpl. Hassoun to turn himself in and return to the United States to face charges under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice," the Marine Corps said in a statement at the time.

Prosecutors will argue during the trial that Cpl. Hassoun deserted his post after becoming dissolution with the U.S. treatment of Iraqis, reports the Associated Press. The Marine also refused to return fire at Iraqi insurgents.

Recently declassified reports reveal that the Hassoun family was distraught at the news of Cpl. Hassoun's kidnapping and also that they negotiated for his release, details not produced at the 2004 trial, which have raised suspicion with Cpl. Hassoun's lawyer.

"Someone at a high-enough level with the proper clearances knew that this man had been abducted, and yet they brought charges forward anyway," said defense attorney Haytham Faraj.

Faraj explained Lebanese authorities help Cpl. Hassoun and took his passport away after Interpol released a bulletin concerning his deserter status. The Lebanese courts took until 2013 to decide and later lifted his travel ban.

However, the prosecution has to build a case mostly on circumstantial evidence, which the military equivalent of a grand jury says the prosecution "could have a hard time proving their ... case because of the difficulty in tracking down witnesses."

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